LHASA - A "toilet revolution" will begin this year with heavy investment in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region to improve sanitary conditions and boost tourism.

The region will spend 1.2 billion yuan (173 million U.S. dollars) in building and renovating 2,000 toilets in 2017, said Losang Jamcan, chairman of the regional government.

In the past decade, some dry toilets in Tibet's cities have been replaced with flush ones, but dry toilets remain in rural areas.

The 2,000 toilets will be mainly built at tourist spots, along major highways and in public venues with a concentration of locals and tourists, according to Sonam Nyima, director of the Tibet Housing and Urban-Rural Development Department.

The treatment of waste must accord with environmental protection requirements and ensure no damage to environment, he said.

Shannan City in southern Tibet plans to build 200 new toilets at tourist sites this year.

A "toilet revolution" is also underway elsewhere in China. The national standard requires "sanitary" toilets in rural homes to have walls, roofs, doors and windows and to be at least two square meters in size. They may be flush toilets or dry toilets with underground storage tanks.